Anaesthesiology

The Department of Anaesthesiology manages all the operation theatres (OTs) equipped with modern air handling units. The OTs have state-of-the-art modern anaesthesia machines with facilities for low flow anaesthesia. The department also has various gadgets for the management of difficult airway viz. various types of LMAs, I gels, gum elastic bougies, tube exchangers, fiber optic, bronchoscope, Air traq, Cricothyroidotomy sets, etc. Monitoring devices in the form of multipara monitors, neuromuscular junction monitors (Peripheral nerve stimulator, TOF guard), temperature maintaining devices (Bair hugger warming blanket, IV fluid warmers) are used routinely for all major and supra-major surgeries. Invasive monitoring facilities (CVP line and Arterial line) are also instituted in indicated cases. Monophasic and biphasic defibrillator with facilities of AED and transcutaneous pacing are also available. The department practices a wide range of regional anaesthesia techniques encompassing central neuraxial blocks like spinal, epidural, combined spinal epidural and peripheral nerve blocks using nerve locater and/or ultrasonography which improves the quality of block, thus, minimizing the rate of complications. Perineural catheters are used for continuous anaesthesia and post-operative analgesia. Recovery room facilities are available to observe and monitor the patients post-operation. The department runs a daily OPD for the assessment of patients pre-operation to stratify their risk and to optimize them thereafter.

Services for deep sedation and/or anaesthesia with the required monitoring are provided to Radiodiagnosis Department for CT Scan, MRI & USG for diagnostic and occasionally for interventional procedures. Similarly anesthesia and sedation services are provided for cancer patients requiring procedures like interstitial brachytherapy and radiotherapy.

Pain clinic is conducted as daily OPD where primarily patients of chronic pain, cancer pain and even acute pain are referred by various others specialties like General Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Skin & Veneral Diseases, Medicine and Oncology, etc. Patients are treated using multi-disciplinary approach with help from physiotherapists, psychiatrists, psychologists and neurophysicians. Drugs like injectable Morphine, Fentanyl lollipos–transdermal patch, Gabapentine, Pregabaline and various combination drugs are available for the treatment of various types of pain. The Department also practices interventional procedures like neurolytic blocks, epidural steroid injections, etc.

Acute pain services are provided by the Department to post-operative, burn and trauma patients in hospital using continuous epidural, perineural and patient-controlled analgesia catheters and multi-modal drug therapy. Labour analgesia is also practiced in a protocolized manner on request by the Obstetrician in indicated cases and on demand by the Parturients. Various educational programmes are conducted by the department for the nursing staff to increase awareness of pain as the fifth vital sign.

The Department is responsible for the resuscitation calls, especially in polytruma cases in Trauma Centre and providing anaesthesia for emergency surgeries in the Trauma OT. The shifting and transport of critically ill patients in the ambulance is also entrusted to anaesthesiologists. The Department has played a major role in formulating the ‘Code Blue‘ Team of the hospital which caters to any calls for resuscitation within the hospital campus.

The Department also manages surgical ICU. All the ventilatory and haemodynamic monitoring and managrment is done using modern technology. Procedures like central venous cannulations using ultrasonography, arterial cannulations, percutaneous tracheostomies and thoracic epidural catheter placement for fracture ribs or for post-operation pain relief are performed routinely.

The Department has adequate number of qualified and experienced faculty members..The department runs a MCI-recognised postgraduate programme since 1998 with the intake of three degree and six diploma seats every year. The postgraduate students are given a wide exposure to all the surgical branches of anaesthesiology including cardiac, neurosurgery, plastic, urosurgery, paediatric, laparoscopic, vascular, onchosurgery, etc over and above the basic training in general surgery, orthopaedics, obstetrics & gynaecology and ENT.